Use this tool to research current food waste policy at the federal and state levels and to discover best practices and recommendations for policy improvements that will support more food waste prevention, recovery and recycling.

Select a policy filter below to view the States related to that policy

Level of state liability protection for food donation

Federal policy provides a strong baseline of donation liability protection. States shaded above offer additional liability protections within the state (darker shading indicates a greater number of additional protections).

States offering additional tax incentives for food donation

Level of policy hindering food waste recycling

Federal policy allows for the feeding of food scraps to animals with a few conditions. States shaded above impose additional restrictions, making it harder to feed livestock food scraps. (Darker shading indicates more restrictions.)

Least restrictive policiesMost restrictive policies

Level of policy hindering food waste recycling

Shaded states impose additional restrictions, making it harder to feed livestock food scraps.

States and municipalities that have organic waste bans & waste recycling laws

States

Municipalities

Spotlight on date labeling regulations

Current date labeling practices on food packaging cause confusion that leads to 20% of consumer waste of safe, edible food. Five to 10% of this could be impacted by standardizing policy around date labeling.

Level of state date labeling regulations

Under federal law, date labels are almost entirely unregulated. States have filled the void with a wide variety of regulations that often fail to reflect the distinction between food safety and food quality.

No regulationsMost regulations

Level of state liability protection for food donation

Federal policy provides a strong baseline of donation liability protection. States shaded above offer additional liability protections within the state (darker shading indicates a greater number of additional protections).

States offering additional tax incentives for food donation

Level of policy hindering food waste recycling

Federal policy allows for the feeding of food scraps to animals with a few conditions. States shaded above impose additional restrictions, making it harder to feed livestock food scraps. (Darker shading indicates more restrictions.)

Least restrictive policiesMost restrictive policies

Level of policy hindering food waste recycling

Shaded states impose additional restrictions, making it harder to feed livestock food scraps.

States and municipalities that have organic waste bans & waste recycling laws

States

Municipalities

U.S. Food Waste Policy Finder

Use this tool to research current food waste policy at the federal and state levels and to discover best practices and recommendations for policy improvements that will support more food waste prevention, recovery and recycling.